The invention relates to a method for processing dust when breaking rock, the method comprising sucking broken rock material out of the borehole and transporting it to a dust separator; separating the rock material and air with the dust separator; dosing the separated rock material in batches with a discharging device from the dust separator; and removing the rock material from the dust separator with a displacement feeder.
The invention further relates to a dust separator that comprises a body; at least one suction device for generating suction in the space defined by the body; at least one feed channel for feeding rock material and air to the dust separator; at least one separator for separating the rock material from air; at least one discharge channel, along which the air that has passed through the separator is arranged to be removed from the dust separator; at least one discharging device that is connected to a discharging part of the dust separator and arranged to remove the separated rock material in batches from the dust separator.
The invention yet further relates to a rock-drilling rig that comprises a movable carrier; at least one drilling boom with at least one drill unit comprising a rock drill machine; a dust removal system that comprises at least one dust separator, at least one suction funnel at the drill unit and at least one suction channel for transporting the drilling cuttings formed during drilling from the suction funnel to the feed channel of the dust separator.
In rock drilling, rock is broken with a tool, which generates rock dust that is hazardous to health. Rock-drilling rigs typically have a dust collecting system with which rock material is sucked away from the borehole and filtered in dust separators. The separated rock material can be removed from the dust separator with a discharging device. U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,330 discloses a solution, in which separated rock material is transported with a feeder to a discharge chamber at the bottom of the dust separator, and there a liquid binder is mixed into the rock material with agitator elements, after which the mixture can be ejected from the dust separator. A problem with such a discharging device is its slow operation among other things.